• Prep Veg - peel the carrots and parsnips. Cut the carrots in half, then halve again to make chunky batons. Set aside. Cut the parsnips and celery into large chunks.
  4 carrots

  2 parsnips

  2 celery stalks
• Caramelise Parsnips & Celery – set the broth pot over medium heat. Add the oil, parsnips and celery (not the carrots). Shake the pan so that the veg lies in a single layer. Cook, turning often, until the veg is well browned in spots, 5-10 minutes.
  Tablespoon olive oil
• Water – add the (cold) water. From the tap is fine. Crank the heat up to the highest setting.
  3.5 litres water
• Parsley, Bay Leaf, Carrots & Chicken Parts - add the parsley stems, bay leaf, carrots and all the chicken. Over high heat, bring the water to a gentle simmer (this may take a while), then reduce the heat to minimum. We want to maintain a gentle simmer for the rest of the cooking time.
  Stems from a bunch of parsley

  1 bay leaf

  2 chicken frames

  4 chicken chops

  6 chicken wings OR chicken necks
• Skim – off the foam and sediment as it forms until it’s mostly gone. Be patient – this to take around 20 minutes. Avoid stirring or pressing the ingredients down to skim.
• Peppercorns – add the whole peppercorns (in a spice bag if you have one).
  2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• Simmer - for about 45 minutes more with the lid the lid on but not properly. Leave a small gap. Check every so often that the soup hasn’t come to a standstill or is boiling furiously. Skim as necessary.
• Remove Thighs – use tongs to remove the chicken thighs (there were four) from the broth. Take care not to break the carrots. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly (keep the soup simmering). It may be tricky to source them amongst the other chicken bits. The meat on the thighs should be falling-off-the-bone-tender. If it isn’t, cook for a little longer before re-checking.
• Simmer – continue simmering the soup, keeping mostly covered for another 3 ½ hours. Check occasionally that a gentle simmer is maintained.
• Shred Thighs - as soon as the chicken thighs are cool enough (after about 30 minutes), peel the meat from the bones and tear into bitesize pieces. It's easiest to use your hands. Return the thigh bones/skin to the broth. Place the shredded meat in a small bowl to add back to the soup later. Cover closely with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.
• Strain Soup – when the 3 ½ hours is up, the broth is done. Turn off the heat. Use tongs to gently pick out any carrots you can see (they will be very soft) and transfer these to a small bowl to serve with the soup later. Use a skimmer or slotted scoop to lift out the rest of the contents of the stock pot and place in a sieve set over a very large bowl. Retrieve any further carrot pieces with care from the tumble of stuff.
• Sieve Soup - when most of the pieces are out, strain the broth slowly. There will be about 2 litres. Cover and refrigerate the carrots. You can discard the rest of the solids, or pick over them to nibble on (‘Chef’s treat’).
• Season - grind up the white peppercorns with the heel of a rolling pin or in a mortar. Sieve to add to the soup. Add the salt and stir through. Cover the bowl. Leave to cool for a bit before transferring to the fridge for at least a day (up to five).
  2 ½ teaspoons salt

  ¼ teaspoon white peppercorns

To Serve

• Skim - off the fat on the surface of the cooled broth (a small residual amount is fine) (note)
• Cook Noodles – boil the noodles according to the packet instructions. Drain and rinse and transfer to a separate bowl. You can stir through a tablespoon of chicken schmaltz to to keep the strands separate.
  150 g dried egg noodles
• Gently Reheat – allow 2-3 ladle-fuls (about 200-300ml) per serving. Heat up the broth until steaming hot, without letting it come to a boil.
• Serve – put some noodles, roughly shredded chicken and some carrot pieces in each bowl. Top with the broth to heat through.